Author Archives:

Lorde’s “Royals,” one of the most popular songs of 2013, became an instant hit by criticizing the pop-culture glorification of living in excess. The first line of the chorus reads, “Everybody’s like: Cristal, Maybach, diamonds on your timepiece … We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in your love affair.” But what if you are […]

When you day dream about the holidays what do you see? Snowcapped Douglas Firs? Shiny ornaments dangling from a tree? Wrapped presents? Decadent meals? A new house? A new job? The holiday season is one primed for imagining your wildest dreams, but also notable for giving thanks for the things you do have: family, life, […]

Americans have always taken their cars seriously. Known for building cars with power, with parts easily accessible to the “everyman” and design that allows owners the opportunity to make repairs themselves, the American car enjoyed a position of power in the automobile industry for decades. In the 1890s the American automotive industry evolved into the […]

You’ve seen them before, those cars in the Los Angeles area sporting multiple paint jobs. The body is green, one door is stripped of color, the other door is red, and the trunk door is sporting faded paint. The car is essentially a mess and you wish someone would refer that person to a good […]

If you drive a European luxury car, then so-called “specialized” auto body shops may be overpricing your car repairs. Why? Often, because they can. Because they claim to possess a specific skill set that no one else has, specialized auto body repair shops have effectively monopolized your auto repair. But are specialized auto body shops […]

Being a Student is Expensive, but your Auto Repair Doesn’t Have to Be It’s the end of August, and that means the start of Fall Quarter at UCLA is just around the corner. As tuition, housing, books, and the countless other fees associated with being a student all begin to add up, that financial aid […]

There are stories cropping up all over Los Angeles involving bandits taking advantage of innocent people, and the lawmen who work slowly, but surely against them. This isn’t the Old West, and yet these outrageous tales are taking place today. Bandit tow trucks are exactly what they sound like: renegade tow truck drivers who perch […]